A trial court erred in allowing the family of two brothers who died in a 2007 elevator accident to add an allegation of gross negligence and demand punitive damages in their lawsuit against the property owner and the elevator operator, an appellate court ruled.
Leslie Jones Jr. and his half-brother Julian Jones were fighting in an 11th floor hallway of a building in the LeFrak City apartment complex in Queens when they slammed into an elevator door, dislodging it. The door opened and the men fell to their deaths down the elevator shaft. A toxicology report revealed that they were intoxicated.
